Mining project: Areva, Mon-Atom sign uranium deal
Areva, Mon-Atom sign a deal to develop two uranium mines in Gobi desert.
ULAN BATOR:
According to the officials, French nuclear energy giant Areva signed a deal with Mongolia’s state-owned Mon-Atom on Saturday to develop two uranium mines in the Gobi desert. Fabius’ Mongolian counterpart, Luvsanvandan Bold said that the deal represented an important step for the resource-rich but still impoverished nation. Areva, in a statement said that the agreement would create a company that would be 66% owned by Areva and 34% owned by Mon-Atom. Areva, which has a presence in Mongolia for more than 15 years, said that exploration work had discovered two uranium deposits with estimated reserves of 60,000 tonnes. Mongolian protesters had warned before signing the deal that this could lead to water resource contamination in the area. Wedged between Russia and China, Mongolia has recently been seeking to broaden the base of its political and economic allies, notably exploring relationships with France, Japan and Germany.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2013.
According to the officials, French nuclear energy giant Areva signed a deal with Mongolia’s state-owned Mon-Atom on Saturday to develop two uranium mines in the Gobi desert. Fabius’ Mongolian counterpart, Luvsanvandan Bold said that the deal represented an important step for the resource-rich but still impoverished nation. Areva, in a statement said that the agreement would create a company that would be 66% owned by Areva and 34% owned by Mon-Atom. Areva, which has a presence in Mongolia for more than 15 years, said that exploration work had discovered two uranium deposits with estimated reserves of 60,000 tonnes. Mongolian protesters had warned before signing the deal that this could lead to water resource contamination in the area. Wedged between Russia and China, Mongolia has recently been seeking to broaden the base of its political and economic allies, notably exploring relationships with France, Japan and Germany.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2013.